Ogallala Aquifer?

So lately I have been learning so much about "the end of the world". And to be honest, it freaks me out! One of the biggest concerns right now is running out of water. We have been learning about the Ogallala Aquifer (an underground water basin that runs from South Dakota to West Texas) and unfortunately it is running out of water. People in the Ogallala region are taking so much water out everyday (around eleven billion gallons per DAY) that the aquifer is unable to refill itself. Why can't it recharge itself you may be asking yourself? Well there are a couple reasons that it is unable to refill itself:

*1.* Since we have so much pavement and concrete laid down on the ground, water is not able to penetrate the ground and go back down into the aquifer.

*2.* Big corporations come into the Ogallala region and pump water out, bottle it, and ship it out to different parts of the world. Well when water is moved somewhere else, it is unable to sink back into the ground.

Another question you may be asking is, who cares? Can't we just get water from another aquifer? The answer is no. Underground water basins are being depleted all over the world. And once the water is gone, it is gone. And yes we could build desalination plants and use ocean water. But did you know that desalination costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, effects global warming, and even produces nuclear waste?? And did you know that if the Ogallala aquifer dries up that many other things will happen besides running out of water?:

*1.* When there isn't any water to water the agriculture then the fields will dry up. And then ANOTHER Dust Bowl will occur.

*2.* Thousands of people will loose their jobs.

*3.* When people loose their jobs a domino effect will occur onto the economy and it could further us into another great depression.

What really scares me is that I didn't know that a water problem even EXISTED. Did you? When my class took a survey we found out that out of about 50 kids only 3 knew that there was a water issue and that there was an Ogallala aquifer. Well I suggest that you educate yourself on this issue. It is soooo interesting and it made me want to make a difference. Here are a few websites that I looked up if you want to see some more of what I am taking about.

*1.* http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/ (This is a movie website)

*2.* http://geology.com/usgs/high-plains-aquifer.shtml

*3.*http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-ogallala-aquifer

WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE? WE ALL CAN!

*1.* Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth.

*2.* Don't let the shower run longer than needed. Turn off the water when you shave. Take

shorter showers!

*3.* Don't water the lawn if you don't need to. Why water your lawn in the winter? It is just

going to die.

*4.* Don't flush the toilet unless you need to. If you squish a spider throw it away in the

trash can. It's dead...why flush it?

*5.* If you have water you don't need don't just dump it down the sink. Put it to good use.

Water an indoor plant. Put it in the dog bowl.

SAVE THE PLANET

SAVE THE BLUE GOLD